Steven Meiring

Steven Meiring (born 2 January 1994) is a South African rugby union player who most recently played with the . He can play as a flanker or a number eight.

Rugby career

2010–2012: Schoolboy rugby

Meiring was born in Boksburg and attended high school in nearby Pretoria. He was selected to represent the Pretoria-based at two national youth tournaments – in 2010, he played as a flanker for them in the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week held in Upington, and two years later he represented them at the premier South African high schools competition, the Under-18 Craven Week. He started all three of their matches as a number eight at the tournament held in Port Elizabeth, scoring a try in their 47–0 victory over Gauteng rivals the .

2013: Western Province Under-19

Meiring moved to the Cape Town-based for the 2013 season. He made eight appearances for the s during the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship, scoring two tries; he scored the only try for Western Province in a 10–34 defeat to the Blue Bulls, and one of nine in their 62–0 victory over in their next match. The season ended in disappointing fashion for Western Province as they finished in fifth position, missing out on a semi-final spot despite being the defending champions of the competition.

2014–2015: Free State Under-21 and UFS Shimlas

For the 2014 season, Meiring joined the Bloemfontein-based , where he linked up with the Under-21 team. He didn't feature in the first five rounds of the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, but, after coming on as a replacement in their next match against the s, started the remainder of their matches in the competition. He scored a single try during the season in their 72–0 victory over as Free State finished in fourth place. The last of Meiring's nine appearances came in their semi-final match against Western Province, which his former team won 41–17 to end Free State's interest in the competition.

In March 2015, Meiring made three appearances for in the Varsity Cup competition. He made two starts and one appearance as a replacement during the round-robin phase of the competition as Shimlas finished in second place on the log with an unbeaten record. He didn't feature in the play-offs, where Shimlas beat in the semi-final and in the final to win the competition for the first time.

Meiring started ten matches for in the 2015 Under-21 Provincial Championship and enjoyed a very prolific season, scoring nine tries. He scored two tries in a match on three occasions – in their home match against , their away match against the same opposition and their home match against the s – and scored his seventh try of the season in a victory over the s as Free State secured second place on the log to secure a semi-final berth. Meiring opened the scoring for his side against the in their semi-final match, scoring a try in the fourth minute of a match they eventually won 27–22, and scored a consolation try in the final against , which the side form Cape Town won 52–17. His try-scoring feat put him joint-second on the overall try-scoring charts in Group A of the competition behind teammate Daniel Maartens, and joint-twelfth for overall points scorers.

2016: Griquas

Meiring was named in the wider training group of the Super Rugby team for the 2016 Super Rugby season, but did not make any appearances. Instead, he joined Kimberley-based side for the 2016 season. Meiring made his first class debut on 7 April 2016, coming on as a replacement in their 34–14 victory over in their first match of the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series, before making his first senior start in a 27–17 victory over the a fortnight later. Meiring made a total of ten appearances for Griquas during the qualifying campaign – making two starts and eight appearances as a replacement – as he helped his team finish in second place to secure one of three available spots in the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division. He made three appearances off the bench in that competition, with Griquas winning four of their eight matches to finish the season in sixth position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meiring, Steven
South African rugby union players
Living people
1994 births
People from Boksburg
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union number eights
Griquas (rugby union) players
Rugby union players from Gauteng